Crate training could definately solve some of your problems. He should not be allowed access to those things if he is going to chew them. Loki chews his own things, not ours, because we have actively directed his chewing to those things. (He is still crated when we are not home.) If he would chew on something he is not supposed to (a pillow) we would say no and give him a toy or bone. He is more than a year old and he is still quite the chewer, so the chewing may not go away but the destructive behavior should. Does he have enough of the right kind of chew toys? Is he bored? Think about it, why does he have access to the apartment if he chews it up?
Sending him away will not solve the problems you have described. He needs to build that trust with you. You have been to puppy class - can you continue with an obedience class? We have done several once-a-week classes with Loki. Just having access to a trainer to ask these sorts of questions of will be worth the $$.
Why is it hard to have fun with him? What are your expectations? A typical evening for me is literally sitting watching TV while "playing" with Loki. And when I say playing, I really mean training! We play fetch, he learns tricks. It's total entertainment. Our weekly obedience class is entertainment. We have so much fun training him and he has fun doing it. We take every opportunity for training, from feeding time to someone coming to the door. It is worked into our regular day.
Also, my VERY best suggestion from the bottom of my heart is doggie daycare. The pups just run all the bad doggie habits right out of them. A tired dog is a good dog. Spend that money on daycare and a good positive trainer and you'll be good to go. |